French steam

Just back from a superb day in the Auvergne, with a steam hauled train (tailed by a BB diesel) from Clermont Ferrand up the sadly truncated Mont Dore branch as far as Bourboule. There was a break of over three hours here while the train shuttled back and forth between here and the preceding station (Lacqueille) for locals whilst we (la famille plus grand-père) had a fine lunch, visited a model railway show and had a ride in a 1920 Citroen charabanc.

A full day for just €40 per person, travelling in 1930s carriages including a well stocked bar car and generous opening windows. Lovely stuff, just tinged with sadness at the SNCF’s attitude to minor lines; if it’s not a TGV, it’s not worth investing in. Mont Dore lost its passenger service as recently as 2015.

The itineraries of the Train à Vapeur d’Auvergne are well worth exploring; you can get a Ryanair flight to Clermont Ferrand from Stansted for as little as £20. I did! The Gorges d’Allier trip I can particularly recommend.

see https://www.trainvapeur-auvergne.com/programme-annuel/

 

Like England, France is on high alert for fires and heritage railways are operating diesels. I had a day out at the Chemin de fer du Vendée, a 22km line which includes several spectacular viaducts and open-balcony coaches. It was worked by an interesting 0-4-4-0 diesel which failed with gearbox problems on the return run and had to be rescued by a classmate.

The line is one of the more established French heritage railways and has a couple of good stations, an extensive depot, steam engines, and a regular dining train.

Well worth a visit, if you're in the area. It's very close to the Puy du Fou historical theme park which is an incredible day out boasting a full size Colusseum with chariot racing.